"Bluing" Brass

[jjsemperfi]

Any way to "Blue" brass or at least make it a dark color? I just don't like brass on firearms and my trade rifle has a bit of it.

 

[Nifeman]

You can fumigate it. Get a plastic container big enough to hold your part, then put a shot glass with an ammonia soaked cotton ball in as well. Put the lid on and start watching it about 15 min later. Take it out when it achieves the desired "look". Keep the part raised on toothpicks or suspend with string, as if it lays on the bottom, it'll pick up condensation from the chemical reaction the ammonia has with the brass and it will puddle there (ask me how I know )...Bud

 

[galamb]

Yep - Birchwood Casey's "Brass Black" - check the link (BC Brass Black)

 

[Stophel]

Handling it with funky, greasy, black gunpowdery hands will turn it dark pretty quick. :wink:

I believe it's the sulphur that does it, and I'm told that egg yolks do a fine job of blackening brass, though I have not tried it myself.

 

[Brokennock]

I've had good luck darkening brass by first breaking the surface with 600 grit emory paper then , depending on the size of the part, using a Birchwood Casey superblue pen or a cotton cleaning patch with liquid super blue on it. Wipe with oily cloth when desired darkness is reached, the oil should stop the process. Also, using the gunk from cleaning your bore, b.p. residue and such will retain the brass color but knock down the shine and darken it. It takes longer though.

 

[necchi]

You can "tarnish" it really fast by wiping it down with the first cleaning patch that comes out of the barrel.
Other wise I've seen some really nice results with the Brass Black galamb mentions

 

[Vaino]

I use 44/40 cold blue to darken the brass. Rubbing w/ 0000 steel wool yields the desired darkness.....Fred

 

[George]

Yep - Birchwood Casey's "Brass Black"

Works fast, does a good job.

Before:



Two minutes later:



Spence

 

[LRB]

I used to use the Brass Black, but I soon found that most any cold blue works about the same. I prefer 44/40.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Do you use this on your engraving, to darken the incises? Then shine it back up (where you want to see the brass) with the 600 grit? I used to think that brass on ML'ers ought to be so shiny and polished it would make a Marine D.I. proud, but now I am more of the school that it ought to be a little duller, like around where 600-800 grit paper takes it.

 

[tbarnes66]

I had some of this brass darkening solution from a previous furniture project. Works well.

http://www.rockler.com/darkening-solution

 

[LRB]

It could be used in engraving, but I use Rustoleum flat black paint. Wipe on, wipe off. The excess comes off easy before it sets, although it sets pretty fast.